Alana Burke: Obama undermines national security

The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered its ruling on Arizona's illegal immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. The court struck down three of the law's hotly contested provisions. Specifically, a penalty for illegal aliens that seek or engage in work in Arizona, penalties for illegal aliens who do not possess federal registration cards and a provision that empowered police to arrest illegal aliens without a warrant if they committed "any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States." The court let stand the provision that allowed local authorities to check immigration status in the course of lawful detention and had provoked amnesty-minded liberals to foam at the mouth and spit out accusations of racial profiling.

Unaware that President Obama had plans to further undermine Arizona's ability to enforce immigration law, Gov. Jan Brewer claimed the ruling a victory for her state — that the heart of the law had been upheld. Her happy smile turned grim when Obama announced that he was rescinding Arizona's 287(g) program, which that facilitates state and federal cooperation on immigration issues.

Obama issued a directive to the Homeland Security Department not to act on calls from the Arizona police unless the illegal immigrant in question had committed a felony. Thus, a person trafficking illegal aliens, which is a felony, would be held accountable for breaking the law, but the aliens who entered the country illegally would get a free pass.

ICE's fact sheet on 287(g) states: "Terrorism and criminal activity are most effectively combated through a multi-agency/multi-authority approach that encompasses federal, state and local resources, skills and expertise. State and local law enforcement play a critical role in protecting our homeland because they are often the first responders on the scene when there is an incident or attack against the United States. During the course of daily duties, they will often encounter foreign-born criminals and immigration violators who pose a threat to national security or public safety".

What president in his right mind would rescind this partnership? Doing so only serves to undermine the security of the nation — a nation that, after Sept. 11, has made multilateral cooperation between local, state and federal entities a priority.

The answer is a president who, to stir up his base, would ignored the term "lawful detention" in SB 1070 and claim that because of the law a Hispanic family would no longer be able to go out for ice cream without being profiled and harassed.

Obama made that ludicrous statement, and it revealed his disrespectful assumption that Arizona police are corrupt, racist, profiling bullies with a vendetta against Hispanics. As it turned out, the arguments posed in the Supreme Court against SB 1070 did not even address the issue of racial profiling but focused on the issue of federal versus state power.

The Homeland Security Department claims it is prioritizing the use of resources by arresting only illegal aliens who pose a "danger." Yet, a lackadaisical immigration policy and a porous border clearly present a real and present danger. They are an open invitation for terrorists to take advantage of our "soft spot." Plus, with America balancing precariously on a debt-laden tightrope, the stress on the economy, health and educational system generated by 11 million-plus illegal aliens hurts all Americans.

Obama has effectively rendered SB 1070 into a toothless mockery of law enforcement. His eunuching of the law will likely increase the flood rather than stem the tide of illegal border crossings. Given his recent decision not to deport illegal immigrants under age 30 who arrived in the U.S. under age 16, increasing the flow may have been his intention. Further, after the ruling, Obama created a help hotline for illegal aliens to report perceived civil rights infractions related to the "check papers" provision, yet another indication of his apparent disrespect for the predominant integrity of law enforcement.

In previous administrations and glaringly so in the Obama administration, the definition of "illegal" when attached to "immigrant" has become subjective and fluid depending on who benefits politically. SB 1070 arose not out of some perverse desire to racially discriminate, but out of necessity because the federal government has not and is not doing its job to keep the border secure and the citizens of Arizona and the rest of the country safe.

Obama's decision to rescind 287(g) was a childish and dangerous tactical maneuver and no doubt he will use similar tactics to weaken other states that have modeled their immigration laws on Arizona's. While previous administrations have been guilty of not enforcing immigration laws, this time Obama has boldly and blatantly put his politics ahead of the security of the nation. Perhaps he needs to be reminded that, as president, he is duty bound to protect this nation and enforce its laws, even those he does not agree with.